Budget
Budget
Nice
Fancy
Accomodation
(per night)
$10-20
$30-40
$80-200
Food
(per meal)
$2-3
$5-8
$10-20
Activities
$6 scooter /day
$2-5 temples
/waterfalls
If you are looking for a nice and diverse holiday destination that includes lots of swimming and beach time, the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico is perfect for you. It’s got stunning paradise beaches for ultimate relaxation, old Maya ruins to discover and thousands of mysterious cenotes to explore. This is our 2-3-week itinerary for Yucatán!
Good to know
The most popular ways of getting around in Yucatán is either by bus or a rental car. We did it by bus (ADO) and were able to book all of our tickets online or at the bus station.
Isla Holbox
The starting point of this itinerary is Cancún, but we recommend to only spend one night here to recover from your flight. It’s super touristy with many big hotels and not a lot of character in our opinion, but it does serve a great starting point of your trip!
Isla Holbox is a very charming little island, with lots of sand roads, brightly colored houses with thatched roofs and street art at every corner. It gives you an instant holiday feeling and there’s tons of stuff to do!
Holbox is surrounded by beautiful beaches, so you’ll have no problem finding a good spot! There is a beach right by the town, but if you walk (or cycle) a bit further to the right, the beach gets quieter and more beautiful. You can also rent a bicycle and go to playa Punta Cocos, which is about 3km away from the town. Between April and October you can spot flamingos here, and during summer and fall you might see the bioluminescent plankton during the night!
Holbox is also one of the best places in the world to see whale sharks! They are not there all year round, but if you visit between May and September chances are very high you will be able to see them!
The island has a busy and vibrant city center, with many nice restaurants to choose from. From authentic Mexican taquerias to trendy smoothie bowl selling coffee shops, there are plenty of options!
Valladolid
The old colonial city of Valladolid is completely different from Caribbean, beachy Holbox. There is a beautiful old church in the middle of town, a busy park with little white benches in front and the picturesque Calle de los Frailes, a super cute street with brightly colored, plastered houses. There are a few nice restaurants and cafes around, but definitely not as many as in Holbox or Tulum. Also worth a visit is the old monastery Convent de San Bernardino de Siena. There is also a free light show every night in front of it, which starts in Spanish at 9pm, followed by the English version at 9:30pm.
But the main reason to visit Valladolid isn’t actually the city itself, but what’s around it! This area of Mexico for a very special phenomenon: cenotes. They’re basically underground caves, some completely closed and others partially open at the top, filled with clear blue water. The crazy thing is that there are over 6.000 of them, and they’re all actually connected to each other by an underground river. Some of them are really well known and busy, but there are plenty of cenotes that aren’t visited very often and you can have them all to yourself. Some of our favorites were Xkeken, Samulá, Palomitas and Xcanahaltun (this was our absolute favorite!). While there are a couple of cenotes within walking distance from the town, you’ll need to rent a bike or even motorbike/car to get to most other ones!
Valladolid is also a great place to stay in case you want to visit old Mayan cities of Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam. Not everyone likes Chichén Itzá because it gets really busy, but as it is one of the seven wonders of the world, we feel like it needs to be on your itinerary! Besides, if you get there early, it’s really not that bad and you’ll have seen most of it before all the tour buses arrive.
A much lesser known Maya site, is Ek Balam. It is located to the north of Valladolid, or if you want to visit on the same day as Chichén Itzá, about an hour’s drive from there. It’s not as big as Chichén Itzá, but definitely very impressive. And in case you’re feeling adventurous, you’re allowed to climb the buildings here. Only so this if you are not afraid of heights and feel very stable on your feet though, the steps are really narrow and its pretty steep!
Tulum:
Next up is Tulum, where the sun, sand, and good vibes await! Tulum has been a very popular holiday destination for years and it’s not hard to see why! It’s got beautiful beaches, lots of cenotes and ancient Maya ruins perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean. On top of that there are só many gorgeous hotels to choose from and countless cute cafes, restaurants and beach clubs offering delicious food of all sorts.
Somehow we didn’t love Tulum as much as we thought we would though. The first thing you need to know, is that Tulum is much more expensive than most other places in Mexico. Especially at the beach, hotels and restaurants were way out of our budget. And while there were many very nice-looking shops and restaurants, we just didn’t really like the overall vibe of this place.
Something else to be aware of, is that Tulum is split into 2 parts which are not within walking distance of each other. You’ve got the main town of Tulum where most of the shops, restaurants and guest houses are located, and you’ve got the part that’s right by the beach. If you stay in Tulum town you can either cycle to to the beach (about 30 minutes), take a taxi or take a local minivan.
Mahahual:
The next stop on the itinerary is Mahahual. It’s a pretty small and quiet town, were it not for the fact that it’s a very popular stop for cruises. The beach here is beautiful though, with crystal clear water and plenty of sunbeds to relax on. Definitely go on a snorkeling trip as well as the underwater world is stunning here.
It can get busy at times, bute the cruise ships usually only stay for a couple of hours! So before and afterwards you’ll have the whole beach to yourselves.
Bacalar
The final destination on our itinerary is Bacalar, also known as the Maldives of Mexico! It offers the bluest waters you’ll probably see in all of Mexico, but the crazy thing is that it’s actually a lake! It’s massive though, and you’ll definitely need a boat to explore it thoroughly. Take a day trip on a catamaran to visit all of Bacalar’s most beautiful spots, or rent a kayak and explore the lake all by yourself!
Back to Cancún
From Bacalar you can easily take the bus back to Cancún order to catch your flight out of the country!
Hi! We're Sara & Arjen!
In 2018 we quit our jobs and decided to travel around the world. 5 Years later we’re still at it and now we’re sharing our experiences and tips with you!
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